


Stay in my Memory (You Can Hide Out There)

by Azuriizt (orphan_account)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Ending, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bucky Barnes & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Bucky Barnes Has Cats, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Comfort, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, I Made Myself Cry, Inspired by Music, M/M, Missing Persons, Not A Fix-It, Presumed Dead, Running Away, Short One Shot, Sorry Not Sorry, Steve Rogers Dies, Tearjerker, Tony Stark Lives, What-If, but minor, cuz the canon ending got me pissed, for the sake of the plot, natasha is also dead because of the plot, so i made a new one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 11:44:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18850408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Azuriizt
Summary: People say that moving on is part of life. You can't keep on visiting the same event over and over if that only brings you sorrow, you must find comfort in the stars.They didn't say what to do when the stars can only shine in your memory.





	Stay in my Memory (You Can Hide Out There)

**Author's Note:**

> for extra pain listen to ''Stay In My Memory'' by Bim, ''Already Gone'' by Sleeping At Last or ''Reluctant Heroes'' by AmaLee

_Two children sat on a field, the sound of joy and laughter filled the air and almost seemed to make the stars in the night sky shine brighter, as if they were powered by nothing but happiness, as if they loved watching the humans as much as humans loved to watch them. Suddenly, the blonde kid tilted his head when his baby blue eyes caught a brilliant flash of light crossing the skies, causing the boy to let out a little sound of awe, before being elbowed by the kid next to him._  
_\- Come on, make a wish, quick! - The other boy said with a smile on his face that was almost as shiny as the phenomenon that had just happened and filled the heart of all the spectators with hope and happiness._  
_\- Oh! Um... - It took him a moment to think, since he couldn't really ask for much more; he had a great, loving family, a supportive friend and all the determination he needed to chase his dreams for as long as he needed to. But there was still one thing left. - I wanna be star. -There was a laugh- Don't laugh at me!_  
_\- Sorry, it's just that... - The boy took a moment of silence to just look at the stars, as if he was asking them for the right words. - That's somethin' kinda stupid to say. People can only become stars when they die, so the people that loved them can still see 'em._  
_\- Nah, a person can be a star if they change the world, and i will do that! - Even if that's hilarious coming from such a scrawny, small kid, the glow on his eyes could make anyone believe him. - But what didya wish for, Bucky?_

_\- For us to be best friends forever._

_\----_

Life, death, rebirth, all of that in the snap of a finger. In one moment he was reaching out to his best friend, in the other he had lost sense of everything around him, and in the final one he was back and running into battle, united with all the fallen heroes that were now rescued by the perseverance of the ones that, still alive, lived in the misery of loss. His ears were capable to hear a simple  _''Avengers.... Assemble.''_ from the mouth of the only one that was always by his side, then everyone started racing towards the enemy, determined to end this once and for all, to finally write one more victory. Out of all the battles Bucky has ever participated in, this one was the one that scarred him the most, trapped him like a fly in a spiderweb and left him there to die, because even if he was alive to celebrate the eventual victory of the team, Steve had died in order for that to happen. The former assassin wished, for once, that they had lost, so he could believe that this was just an illusion, that the two were still best friends forever.  
The tombstone in front of him told him otherwise.  
It was true. When Bucky's heart had just began to beat again, but Steve's stopped and the heavy blow of the clock ticking for the final time broke the living heart of the now lonely soldier, who couldn't even feel the gentle touch of a comforting hand on his shoulder, since the person that used to do that is gone too. He was the only one left behind, with his mind racing; neither of them wanted to die so fast, neither of them  _deserved_ to die so fast. Their lives were too short, it was unfair, they sacrificed themselves so everyone else could live, but Bucky would prefer it if they were alive and well, next to him.

He turned back and headed back home without a word to the stones that read _''Steven Grant Rogers''_ and _''Natalia Alianova Romanoff''_   respectively, his mind was blank from how much he spoke to the two lifeless objects since the day of the tragedy, as if they were the actual people he missed so much, telling them that he was grateful for the gift of life, but he would rather not live with the pain of being alone, or the pain of knowing Steve never realized he was a star all along and that Natasha's journey had ended for the greater good, leaving the world not as an assassin, but as a hero.  
When he had reached his house, the door opened with a ghostly creek, the light outside being the only thing that illuminated the dark room, that soon turned dark once Bucky stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The happy welcome hugs from before were replaced with meows; Natasha used to have a cat, and after her death, the poor kitty needed a new house, a wish that Bucky was more than happy to attend to. Liho, the cat, was having a hard time understanding why his former owner wasn't coming home, so the soldier brought a stray cat home to help him mourn, of which he named Alpine, the sweetest thing you could ever imagine.   
\- Hi, guys. - The tired voice echoed through the room, as the cats went around his legs and started rubbing their furs against them, as if it was a greeting or perhaps a ''thank you''. With a chuckle, the man proceeded to walk to his room and looked through the drawers, until he found a pile of papers and held them close, sitting on the bed, his back against the headboard, hearing purrs as Liho and Alpine jumped there with him. The papers were about everything Bucky could remember of his past and the fun events with friends, in case he happened to forget everything in his memory again; they talked about the trio hanging out on a park, the day he met Steve, the day Natasha gave him advice about his crush on his childhood friend, his first kiss with Steve, he even stumbled upon an old picture of the three. God, all he wanted was to beside them right now, he wished they were alive, but that's only possible in his memories, only in his dreams.  
Letting out a deep sigh of despair, Bucky held the picture close to his chest and closed his eyes, trying to let go of the past, since they weren't coming back, no matter how bad he wished for that, they had the stars now. The thoughts flooding his heads were erased when he felt a creature laying against his leg and the other creature laying on his lap, as if a signal that he still had them. He was extremely grateful for that, and fell asleep to the sound of comfort itself.  
  
\---  
It has been three days. Alpine and Liho have been sitting by the window, waiting for any glimpse of his owner, but all he could see was a scarred man with a glowing chest that appeared every few hours to feed them and change the water. At the end of the third day, the man took both of them away to a new home, his only words being  _''He would want someone to take care of them.''_ , no further information. The true information was that Bucky had gone missing since the day he left, apparently searching for something that could make him deserve a good title. Steve is meant to be featured in history books, Natasha was going to be remembered by her sacrifice, but he was destined to be forgotten, and he wanted to change that and be next to his lover and his friend. Whatever it takes.  
They didn't understand why Bucky didn't come home, but they are going to keep him in their memory.  
  
  
Bucky had the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> :)  
> please don't throw rocks at me


End file.
